64. A new question for an Internet search

All these years I knew that I could not do this task alone.   While the Internet was in its infancy, so to speak, it was not of much use to me, because of the limitations of the new industry.   After all, my objective was esoteric.   But technology was a promising pathway for asking a new question I had not thought of before and indeed it wasn't possible to ask before the days of the Internet.   Though it would be difficult through the Internet to find out anything personal about my great-grandfather Friedrich, now there existed an imaginative course of discovery, using this fairly convenient electronic thoroughfare to Switzerland -- if it were successful.

This is what I decided to attempt to do.   I would try to ascertain facts about Friedrich's career through websites.   Maybe I could figure out how to describe his occupation.   Maybe in the process I could learn something about Swiss history.   Perhaps that goal was attainable in the relatively short time I have left to work, and maybe I should be content with the knowledge of this about Friedrich, a little information about his career.        


In Post #59 we left Jakob II gazing out at the Lake of Geneva around the range of years 1813-1820 (I chose 1820 to make an even number).   He should be permitted this period of rest and relaxation, for he will be choosing an entirely new direction, beginning a new chapter, getting married, having a family, and frankly, he needs to think about what he is doing.   

If I know Jakob II, and I don't, I think he is probably not resting at all but making his way as quickly as he can to his new abode in the Canton of Vaud.    So I have to hurry and tell you about what happened to me, before Jakob II arrives in (say) 1820.   I am hoping that he doesn't rush over there, because I have a lot to tell before I'm ready to continue with Jakob II.   

63. The Internet, genealogy sites start up

During the days when, in order to make written inquiries to other countries, people typed letters, addressed, stamped and mailed envelopes, then waited for weeks to get a response, I had already picked up valuable data for my various family lines, by inquiring in Switzerland when there was a lead.   This was the old-fashioned way to get records.    The results were effective but always sparse.  

Computer technology brought efficiency, speed and promise to research.   The Internet began developing, and as it did, the genealogy sites started up.   In time, they became useful, especially the various extensive databases, which provide many leads.   Checking some of the Internet genealogy sites over the early years, however, none of the general ones were helpful for my research.    One must have a foundation for his study and use good judgement to assess the accuracy of new data.    Data can be wrong, and information gets picked up, is spread and the errors go with it.     One cannot be too cautious when it comes to giving out or gathering data.